Mao (Emela)

Mao is a member of the Angami-Pochuri branch of the Sino-Tibetan language family. It is spoken by about 97,200 people in the northeast of India, mainly in the Mao-Maram subdivision of the Senapati district in the north of Manipur, and also in the Phek district of Nagaland.

Mao is also known as Sopvoma, Spowama, Maikel, Memi, Sopfomo, Emela, Naga (Mao), Mao Naga or Naga. Native speakers called it Emela and themselves Ememei.

Mao was first written with the Latin alphabet by Christian missionaries in the 1920s. Since then a few of people have studied and documented the language.

Mao alphabet and pronunciation

Notes

ü is written ii in some texts
Mao has a high tone, a rising tone, a neutral tone, a rising falling tone and a low falling tone. They are not indicated in writing.

Download an alphabet chart for Mao (Excel)

Sample text (The Lord's Prayer, Matthew 6:9-13)

Rache kobu akhrumei pfu,
Ni zhu sü peno amothu sü solo
Ni movuji sü movu pilo
Rache sübvüa ojiphe hi-e ni modo sü moso pilo
Chithuni tavei sü izho akhrumei yi pio
Ea akhrumei no ipile soma koumei sü kokhei kapi tibvüa,
I no sokama sü kokhei pio
I yi kashi le sü motho pisho
Ana kashi le süno i yi pfuphrapio
Adeiteli movuji, kokhrokoko,
ea amane sü chisa nizhi se
Amen

Translation (literal)

Our God who art in the skies / heavens
Let thy name be clean / holy
Let thy kingdom be sent
Let it be thy will be done on Earth and in the skies / heavens
Give us today our daily food
Just like we have forgiven people that have sinned against us
Forgive us of our sins
Do not let us not enter badness / evil
But take / pull us out of badness / evil
Because the kingdom, strength
And peace is always yours
Amen

Sample text and corrections provided by Su Xiaodan, a native speaker of Mao

Sample videos

Information about Mao | Numbers

Links

Information about Mao
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sopvoma_language
https://www.ethnologue.com/language/nbi
https://endangeredlanguages.com/lang/5666
https://nagaaffairs.org/mao-naga/
https://archive.org/details/dli.language.2262
http://www.language-archives.org/language/nbi

Angami-Puchuri languages

Mao, Pochuri, Sümi

Languages written with the Latin alphabet

Page created: 13.10.22. Last modified: 25.06.24

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